Canadian Genealogy Survey

Just received a note from Del Muise, Professor of History, Emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa who has written to say that the Canadian Survey will be closing November 30th.

To date, they have received over 2,000 responses to the survey, so if you haven't answered the survey yet, please do so by going to www.cusurveycentre.ca

He says that “they will analysing the results of the survey as soon as we get the final results available for some work. We anticipate that that will be by the middle of December; but in the meantime we are preparing a few posts about our preliminary look at the qualitative or open ended questions that seem to us to be quite suggestive”.

They also have a blog at www.genealogyincanada.blogspot.com

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 12

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending November 20, 2011.

Amy Brewitt Genealogy Research Services - www.amybrewittgenealogy.com. This is a pay site if you wish for Amy Brewitt to research your ancestry, especially records in Ontario.

Kindred Footprints: Following in their footprints and walking where my Ancestors walked - http://kindredfootprints.blogspot.com/p/about.html. Started in 2009, the Manley/Munnelly family from County Mayo, Ireland to Thorold, Ontario, Canada and the Vine family from Norfolk, England to Alden, Erie Co., New York.

The Huntley Pages - www.huntleygenealogy.ca. As the website says, it is "A genealogy of the Huntley family that emigrated to Canada from Wiltshire in the mid 1800s. Also covers the families the Huntleys married into. (Ontario)".

Jen's Genealogy Pages…searching for my family's history - www.jenasmart.com. Jen recently celebrated her blogiversary on November 16, 2010 on Geneabloggers. She is searching for her family history.

About Genealogy Services: New Books in the Genealogy and Family History Room - www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-204-e.html. This webpage from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) lists, every month, the latest books that have been received by them.

The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada - www.cecconline.com/node/1. The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples) traces its roots in part to 1810 near Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and a Presbyterian minister - Barton Warren Stone (1772-1844).

Jim's Girl Family History Blog: A genealogy blog to bring together cousins near and far in my family tree. - http://jimsgirlfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com. A blog by Katherine of Ottawa, she gives a good description of BIFHSGO's Friday Conference in September as well as the Genealogy Theme, "Good Things Happen in Genealogy". She also discusses her battle with breast cancer in her latest post.

Joan's Genealogy Jottings - http://joansgenjottings.blogspot.com. The website says that it is blog about her "journey through the DAVIES, BELLAMY, CROCKETT, and BUTCHART family histories".

Judiology ... a genealogical journal of discovery! - http://judiology.blogspot.com. A recently-started blog in April 2011, she has blogs about Home Children, and since her mother was a War Bride, she has a blog about them, also. Good reading!

Le chercheur nomade - The Nomadic Researcher - http://chercheurnomade.blogspot.com (In French only). A blog started by Gilles Cayouette in 2007, the blog traces the ancestors whose surnames are Caillouet (Caillouet, Caillouette, Cayouette...).

Tomorrow Post: November 2011 issue of Families

BRANTches Newsletter - November 2011

The talk at the September meeting of the Brant County Branch of the OGS was given by Gerry Miller on the Jewish families who used to live there from the 1900s up until the late 1920s, when most of them moved on to Toronto or to the United States.

Some of the surnames mentioned were HENKLE, WHITE, BERKERMAN, NYMAN, TULCHIONSKY, YAMPLSKY, KANTER, FINKELSTEIN, and SILVERSTEIN.

In an article by Jean Farquaharson called, "The War of 1812-1814: People in Brant Area – The Nelles Family", she tells us about Hendrik, and his nephew, Andrew. Hendrik supported the Americans during the American Revolution, but Andrew supported the British in the War of 1812.

Jean also writes a review of Mary Coushnie-Mansour's book, A Twentieth Century "Portia": Biography of Thelma Bernice Kerr-Thomson.

Visit the Brant County Branch online at http://brantcountybranchogs.ca

If you are interested in joining Ontario Genealogical Society,go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php.

Tomorrow's Post: - SCAN (Simcoe County Ancestor News)

Our Waterloo Kin - November 2011

The November issue of Our Waterloo Kin is out, and there are various genealogical articles in their edition such as rescuing and restoring a cemetery, biographies published in a newspaper 100 years ago, and an obituary of an old settler who died in 1871.

An semi-unknown cemetery located on the west side of Waterloo, next to the Regional Shopping Centre along Ira Needles Boulevard, is cleaned up by members of the Waterloo Branch of the OGS.

See what they did to identify the cemetery, and why they've decided to make a return visit to the cemetery.

The eleven people who lived in the Waterloo area – Joseph ABRA, Peter BERG, Samuel CASSEL, A.P. DAMMEIER, Albert GIBBONS, Adam HEIPEL, Fred HOLWELL, Henry N. HUEHN, Joseph Good HURST, Solomon KOCH, and Adam MATTUSCH – have short biographies listed on pages 53 and 54 of this issue.

Obituaries of a Father and of his Daughter” highlights the passing of Ledogarius Beisang, and that of his daughter, Mary Anna (nee Beisang) Stremmer, who died in 1905 at Eagle Creek.

The iron cross and stone monuments have been restored at the St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church, and there is an article on “Reading the Documents: Ins and Outs of Paleography”.

You can visit their website at www.waterlooogs.ca.

If you are interested in joining the Ontario Genealogical Society, and the Waterloo Branch of the OGS, please go to the OGS website at www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php.

Tomorrow's Post: Brant County's Newsletter

Huron County Branch Newsletter

The November 2011 issue of the Huron County Branch newsletter is out, and is full of genealogical news.

Ian Hulley, in the September meeting, talked about himself being a gravedigger at the Blyth Cemetery, and he has been the supervisor at St. Paul's Anglican Church Churchyard in Clinton, Ontario.

The old cemetery was disused after the bodies were re-interred in the new cemetery, although there is a question as to if all the bodies were moved.

The rest of the story follows on what Ian has found.

At the October meeting, John Hazlitt, Ted Turner, and Doug Culbert gave a talk on "The Power of the Maitland" where they discussed the research they did on 78 dam sites in Huron, Perth, and Wellington Counties.

There is a book in the making, and it will be called, The Power of the Maitland: Powering Pioneer Settlement in an Ontario River Watershed.

The story, "The History of St. Augustine Parish", that was given at the Closing Mass on September 24th, 2006 has been reprinted in the newsletter, as well as the names of people who were involved in the "12th of July Parade", at Stratford, ON is 1938.

"A Splinter of Wood" is about a young English couple – Robert Carter and Charlotte Watson - who were both born in East Yorkshire, married, and came to Canada in 1854 or 1855. His dream was to own land, which he did in Clinton. A splinter of wood taken from their log house is shown in the newsletter.

"From the Newspapers" is devoted to names taken from The Clinton News-Record and from The Huron Expositor through the years.

You can go to their website at www.hurontel.on.ca/~ogshuron

If you are interested in joining the Ontario Genealogical Society, visit www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php.

Tomorrow's Post: Our Waterloo Kin Newsletter

Southern Georgian Bay Official War of 1812 Bicentennial Event

David J. Brunelle, the Co-ordinator, Historical Displays/Exhibits from the Celebrate Barrie Festival 2012, has sent the following press release -

He says that "On May 31st, June 1st, 2nd and possibly the 3rd, 2012, Barrie, Ontario will host the Southern Georgian Bay Official War of 1812 Bicentennial Event, and honour the Nine Mile Portage Heritage Transport Route.

The Nine Mile Portage, an ancient native trail, once formed a land bridge between Kempenfelt Bay and the Nottawasaga River, enabling a continuous trade and transportation route from Lake Ontario through to Georgian Bay for many centuries.

During the War of 1812, the British military improved the route for the transport of supplies and personnel, as the lower lakes were occupied by the Americans following the Battle of Put-in-Bay. This land route became strategically important in keeping the captured American fort of Mackinaw supplied, and in British hands.

Following the War, the route remained active, and what was known as "the portage landing" grew into the community we know today as Barrie, Ontario.

The City of Barrie will be celebrating its founding with a huge War of 1812 Bicentennial Event including a very large War of 1812 land and naval component. This potential four-day event will include two education days on Thursday and Friday, and continue with two public days on Saturday and Sunday."

If you are interested on attending the event for all or some of the days as a paid participant, or would like more information, please submit an email to David J. Brunelle at davidbrunelle@rogers.com

The Royal British Columbia Museum

The Royal British Columbia Museum is located in downtown Victoria, close to the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel.

From June 1 to September 3, 2012, the museum will feature an exhibit called "Celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee".

The website says, "This special exhibition of nearly 100 portraits by royal photographer, Cecil Beaton (1904-80) depicts Elizabeth in her roles as princess, monarch and mother, and will include a number of rarely-seen photographs alongside extracts from Beaton’s personal diaries and letters"

You can see what is upcoming in the exhibit at www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Exhibit_Gall/Upcoming.aspx

You can also link over to the BC Archives at www.bcarchives.bc.ca/BC_Our_Collections/BC_Vital_Rrd_Collect.aspx and stop at the World War Two Overseas Casualties (1940-1945); Colonial Marriages (1859 to 1872); and Baptisms (1836-1888).

Postscript #1 – BIFHSGO held its monthly meeting on November 12, with a large capacity crowd of 195 members present to hear Glenn Wright give a brief overview of history and genealogical books available online that one can search.

Brooke Broadbent talked about "Moonrakers at Peace and War" which covered the lives of four families that emigrated from the U.K., and settled in the Peterborough, Ontario, area, and who had sent soldiers to serve in both the First and Second World Wars. It was a very interesting talk from a former history teacher, and was punctuated at the end with a graphic (and because of Remembrance Day, timely) video showing poignant archived footage from the Battle of the Somme, where one of his relatives lost his life in service.

Afterwards, Glenn announced surprising news that BIFHSGO has been given a year's reprieve by Public Works (PWGSC), allowing BIFHSGO to use their facilities at the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) until the end of 2012! Monthly meetings will continue to take place at the LAC as will the Conference in September.

The news was met with clapping and cheers from the membership, for it has been a hard-fought battle by Glenn, his executive, and BIFHSGO members.

The next conference will focus on Scotland. If you want to be considered as a presenter, you may submit a brief outline of your proposed talk(s) to conference@bifhsgo.ca no later than 31 January, 2012.